October 7, 2008

Eliot Spitzer famously failed to include him in his own gubernatorial campaign ads. Now David Paterson has launched an obviously carefully-crafted Paterson for New York website which, like the Governor himself, is understated but consistent (“Don’t confuse conciliation with weakness” reads one of the quotes that pop up on the pages). All the goo-goo phrases are there: “civility,” “level with the public,” “speaking candidly,” “real results.” There’s even a heroic black-and-white video that talks about Paterson “getting everyone to pull together for the common good” (while Joe Bruno and Sheldon Silver are shown laughing behind his back, as well they might. Also: “You can be nice and be tough” and “He didn’t just take over that day — he took charge.”

“Paterson for Governor, Inc.” is sitting on $3 million as of its July periodic statement — not world-class but okay, considering its opening balance was “$.00.”

Meanwhile other New York politicians are doing business the old-fashioned way — crushing the opposition with cash, reports Politics on the Hudson. Rye Democrat George Latimer has roughly seven times his opponent’s camapign budget; Scarsdale Democrat Amy Paulin has $392,000 to opponent Anthony Pilla’s $700 — or, to put it another way, a 560-fold advantage. Best of the lot is Adam Bradley of White Plains, who has a campaign budget of $268,400 — and no opponent.